On March 26, 2020, the Prime Minister held the 23rd meeting of the Novel Coronavirus Response Headquarters at the Prime Minister’s Office.

At the meeting, a discussion was held on the response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Following the discussion, the Prime Minister said,

“Today, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare has made a report in accordance with the Act on Special Measures for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) upon consultation with the Expert Meeting on the Novel Coronavirus Disease Control that there is a high possibility of the expansion of infections, in light of the infection situation of COVID-19, including the increase of new patients particularly in urban areas and the increase of patients whose route of transmission is unknown, as well as the sudden surge in the number of patients and the death toll worldwide and several cases reported of infections that occurred overseas. Based on this report, the establishment of a national headquarters for countermeasures was decided, in accordance with Article 15 of the Act, so as to advance comprehensive measures, alongside the measures to date.

It is stipulated that, with the establishment of a national headquarters, each prefectural governor shall immediately set up a prefectural response headquarters in accordance with the Act. We intend to work even more closely with the prefectural governments and advance measures in an integrated manner.

In order to overcome this situation, which could be described as a national crisis, it is necessary that the national and local governments, medical practitioners, business operators, and the public work together and further implement measures against COVID-19. I ask the relevant ministers, working together with Minister Nishimura and the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, to swiftly compile a basic action policy in accordance with the Act.

Furthermore, in light of the global spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), we will further strengthen border controls. Firstly, in line with the recent Level 3 Travel Advice and Warning on Infectious Diseases, we have decided to include the entire regions of 21 European countries and Iran to the areas from which we will deny entry in accordance with the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act. This will be effective as of 0:00 a.m., March 27. In addition, we will ensure PCR screenings to be conducted, at the airport, for all Japanese nationals returning to Japan from these areas.

As the number of people returning to Japan is expected to increase going forward, from the perspective of securing sufficient manpower, I ask the quarantine authority and relevant institutions to cooperate closely and deal with the situation.

In addition, the infections are spreading in Southeast Asia and beyond, and multiple cases of infection have been confirmed among people entering Japan from these countries. We have decided that it is necessary to further strengthen the quarantine measures vis-à-vis Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. We will request individuals entering Japan from these countries to stay for 14 days at a place designated by the Quarantine Station Chief, and refrain from using public transportation. Along with these measures, to ensure their effectiveness, we will suspend the validity of visas that have already been issued to persons in these countries, as well as successively suspending the visa exemption measures. We will proceed with the necessary arrangements, and start implementing the relevant measures from 0:00 a.m., March 28, until the end of April, for the time being.

With regard to measures related to China and Korea, including the strengthening of quarantine measures and visa restrictions, we have decided to keep them effective until the end of April, given that infections are still spreading globally and new cases continue to occur in both countries.

Lastly, due to the global spread of infections and the resulting closure of national borders and the enforcement of curfew measures, travelers and other Japanese are faced with difficulty leaving countries overseas. In light of this situation, we raised the Travel Advice and Warning on Infectious Diseases for the whole world to Level 2 yesterday. We request all Japanese citizens to avoid all non-essential travel worldwide regardless of region.

Under this headquarters for countermeasures, we will continue to exert every effort to prevent the spread of infections, prioritizing the protection of the health and lives of the people over anything else. I ask you to continue to implement the relevant measures.”